Luke Danes: A Life Lived
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: Hi everyone! It has been a while, but the break from writing has felt good. Taking it slow is what I need to do. I've been sitting on this one for a while, and it was nice to return to Gilmore Girls (I was on that Reylo binge for a while). Anyway, enjoy this Luke piece!
1. Chapter 1: Mama & Baby Make a Busy Diner

**Chapter 1: Mama & Baby Make... A Busy Diner**

It was Lorelai Gilmore's first day off after her first week working at the Independence Inn. And boy, was she ready for it. Her life as she knew it had changed forever once again, in the span of just over a year. She knew more now about cleaning toilets, cleaning bathtubs... cleaning _anything_ than she had ever cared to discover.

Now, on this beautiful Saturday morning in Stars Hollow, Connecticut, Lorelai was ready to explore her new home with her year-old daughter, Rory. Strapping her little girl into the stroller - one of the few possessions she had fled with from her parents' mansion in Hartford - Lorelai readied the overcoat that was already starting to fray. In a few seasons, maybe even a few months, the hand-me-down from her mother would be worthless in keeping out the cold.

"Ready to go, my sweets?"

Rory gurgled in response. She was a very attentive and alert baby, using her eyes to know where Lorelai was at all times.

Lorelai beamed with pure love. "Then let's go."

Lorelai pushed Rory and the stroller out of the potting shed and down the hill past the Inn. Her new boss, Mia, had been gracious enough to let the Gilmore girls live in the shed, and free of rent, so that Lorelai could begin saving money unencumbered, to eventually buy a proper house of her own. The thought of how many weeks of cleaning, how many toilets scrubbed, that it would take to reach that goal made Lorelai's stomach knot. It probably would take years... But, as she glanced down at the little baby squirming in her wooly hat, Lorelai vowed that she would have Rory grow up in a proper house, or she would die trying.

Stars Hollow was a very quaint, unpretentious town. The exact opposite of Lorelai's upbringing in the elitist Hartford. An exact opposite that Lorelai absolutely _loved_. There was a bookstore, a pancake house, a town square with a gazebo. And rows of cute little townhouses lining the streets. The entire municipality had only a single traffic light, just off one corner of the square...

Across the street, Lorelai now noticed, from a hardware store. William's Hardware, the sign over the top of the establishment said. Lorelai checked her pockets. She only had a few dollars to spend, the rest having begun a Savings Jar that now sat back at the potting shed. But maybe she could buy some tools and at least try to fix up the shed a little herself. Squaring her shoulders, she pushed the stroller across the square and wrestled it through the door.

She blinked in surprise when she saw the tables scattered across the floorspace, the counter off to one side. She thought this was a hardware store...

"I know that look." The voice made Lorelai turn to its owner, a well-built young man wearing flannel. He looked to be about 19, maybe 20. "You're wondering where all the hardware is. This used to be a hardware store, until my dad turned it into a diner. But he's never gotten rid of the sign." He now held out a large hand, and Lorelai found she rather liked looking at his hands. They were calloused, from years of no doubt constructing and then, she guessed, cooking. "Welcome to Luke's Diner. I'm Luke Danes. You want anything?"

Lorelai blinked for a moment as she processed. "Oh, uh... sure. I'm... I'm Lorelai. Lorelai Gilmore. And this is my daughter, Rory. We're new here in town."

If Luke was surprised to discover that the little baby in the stroller was Lorelai's daughter, he did not show it. Lorelai may have seen a flash of surprise in his eyes, that disappeared as quickly as it had come, but that was it. His largely unfazed reaction was much appreciated. Most people whom she introduced to Rory reacted with downright shock upon learning the true nature of their relationship. Lorelai even recalled one woman keeling over into a dead faint, right on the sidewalk.

"Well, first time customers are on the house!" Luke waved Lorelai and Rory over to the counter, where Lorelai now saw a gentleman with pepper-gray hair hunkered over the coffee. "Dad - brand new patrons!"

The elderly gentleman turned about and smiled at Lorelai. His intrigue only grew as he watched Lorelai lift Rory out of her stroller and cradle her in her arms. "Well... it's always a nice surprise to get new customers! William Danes, at your service."

"Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai shook the outstretched hand. "And this is Rory. Well, her real name is Lorelai, but I named her after me - labor makes you do some crazy things. Mix it with Demerol, and you turn into a nutcase!"

William laughed at the story. Lorelai thought she saw a bemused smile cross Luke's face. The young man now whipped out a pad.

"What can I get you? You can have anything you want."

"Coffee!" Lorelai eagerly requested with wide eyes.

"Except that," Luke shot down without missing a beat. "Don't you know that stuff can kill you?"

Lorelai laughed in awkward surprise. "Since when? I drink it all the time!"

Lorelai did not know if Luke was serious at the horrified stare he now gave her. His priorities were a little eccentric. He barely batted an eye upon learning she was a teenage mother. Yet, hearing she drank coffee nearly gave him a heart attack? "The caffeine alone - it keeps you awake all night! It screws up your energy system! And please don't tell me you let your baby near that stuff!"

Lorelai frowned in annoyance, but on the inside, she was secretly rather amused by Luke. After a moment, she spotted a stack of papers within reach. "What's your birthday sign?" she blurted out.

Luke blinked, perplexed. "Scorpio. Why?"

Without a reply, Lorelai plucked one of the papers from the stack, and a pen from a nearby jar. She scribbled on it, and handed the message to Luke.

"A woman needs her coffee today. Give it and she'll go away," Luke read aloud. He sighed. "All right. But let me make it clear: you have an addiction!" And he poured her a cup.

Lorelai gave him a winning smile, even batted her eyelashes a little at him. She now managed to juggle drinking her coffee with one hand, while rocking Rory with the other. Upon taking the first sip, however, she nearly dropped them both at the sweet heaven that now passed between her lips.

"Oh my God... how do you make this coffee?! I am never drinking coffee from anywhere else ever again!"

Luke's eyes widened in dismay at the compliment. "Oh no..."

Lorelai grinned. "Oh yeah. You're now stuck with me, mister!"

"Hallelujah," Luke deadpanned, something akin to a scowl attached to his face.

Lorelai crinkled her nose in amusement. "You know, you need to work on taking pride in your products."

* * *

From then on, Lorelai woke up extra early so she had plenty of time to run down for coffee at Luke's before her shift at the Inn. She quickly became a regular every single day. And every single day, Luke would beg her not to order coffee, ranting about the poor nutrition it could give you. But somehow, Lorelai would manage to weasel a cup out of him in the end, drinking it while holding Rory at the same time.

"You can put her down on the counter, you know," Luke pointed out, as he watched Lorelai manipulate through this balancing act yet again.

Lorelai stared, horrified. "Absolutely not! What if she rolls off?"

"I'd catch her," Luke shrugged. "Or what if you burned her with the coffee?"

Lorelai just shook her head, her smile playing on the rim of her mug. "You worry too much, Luke." By now, the pair had built up a familiar rapport, a unique banter all their own. Finishing her coffee, she set the mug down and paid with what little spending cash she had. "I know I'm short."

Luke shook his head. "It's fine. I know you're saving up."

Lorelai smiled at him, touched that he was so understanding. "Bye, Luke!" She now bounced Rory in her arms. "Rory, say goodbye to Luke!" she cooed.

"Blah, blah!" Rory bubbled.

"We're working on it," Lorelai sighed. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Luke smile.

* * *

Finally, it was the end of the week. Lorelai had been working at the Independence Inn for two months. Friday afternoon, and she was off of her shift.

As she had become accustomed to doing, Lorelai pushed Rory's stroller down into the Stars Hollow square, towards Luke's Diner, for her afternoon pick-me-up. She found Luke wiping down the counters.

"Why, why must all these little toddlers get their sticky jam hands on this counter? It's marble, you know!" he was grumbling to himself.

"Hey, at least it's not granite. My mother would have a fit. Once, she deported a maid for spilling orange juice on her kitchen island!" Lorelai chirped.

Luke shook his head, having by now heard plenty stories of Lorelai's mother and of where Lorelai had grown up. "What planet does your mother live on?"

"Hartford," Lorelai sighed. "Although, it does bear an uncanny resemblance to Pluto, so I really can't tell..."

She didn't even have to argue for her coffee this time, or even ask for it; Luke poured her a cup right there as she took a seat. As she bent behind the counter to pluck Rory from her stroller, Luke suddenly stopped her.

"Oh no, you don't. We have a new plan for that."

Lorelai frowned. "What new plan?" Luke just nodded back over his shoulder, towards the far window. When Lorelai followed his gaze, her breath hitched in her throat.

At the head of one table was... a high chair. A wooden high chair, complete with an ornate headboard, and a tray table.

"It hasn't been painted yet, but I'm going to get around to it," she vaguely heard Luke mutter sheepishly. Lorelai turned back to him, gobsmacked.

"Oh my God... you _built_ that?"

"Yeah," Luke shrugged. "I hope Rory fits. But even if she doesn't, I can always start over." His voice trailed off in surprise when Lorelai suddenly took his hand and squeezed it. Her eyes were actually swimming with tears.

" _Thank you_."

Luke genuinely smiled back. "Why don't you put her in it? Test it out."

Lorelai eagerly scooped Rory up and practically danced her over to the high chair, gingerly placing the baby into it. She thankfully fit rather nicely. " _There_ we are, my little darling..."

Just then, Lorelai's portable phone rang. Lorelai had a love-hate relationship with the device; it was too big and cumbersome. Still, she answered. "Hello, this is Lorelai... Oh my Gosh, Mia!... Yes, yes, I'll be right over." She hung up and began to flit in a panic, grabbing for her stuff. Before she could fetch Rory from the high chair, Luke was nudging her towards the door.

"Sounds like Mia needs you in a hurry. Go, go!"

"But Rory..."

"She can stay here until you get back! Go!"

Lorelai smiled in appreciation. No one had ever volunteered to watch Rory before. "Thank you, Luke." And she dashed out the door, waving to Rory.

* * *

Lorelai returned to the Diner about two hours later. A toilet had ruptured unexpectedly, in an occupied room no less, and Lorelai had needed to evacuate the guest and then clean up all the muck. Walking into the Diner, the young mom stopped short at what she saw.

Luke was waving a spoon in front of Rory's mouth, making airplane noises. Suddenly, he divebombed the spoonful into Rory's open mouth as she screeched with delight.

"What are you feeding her?" Lorelai laughed.

Luke shrugged. "Mashed potatoes. You can never be too healthy."

"Hey, you!" Lorelai teased. "Quit corrupting my kid!"

Luke just responded by sliding another spoonful of mashed potatoes into Rory's mouth. Upon swallowing, the baby cackled with glee. Luke turned back to Lorelai, a smug grin on his face.

"Your daughter agrees with me. Majority rules."

"Oh, bite your tongue!" Lorelai snapped. But her eyes were twinkling with mirth.


	2. Chapter 2:Wouldn't It Be Lover-ly?

**Chapter 2: Wouldn't It Be Lover-ly?**

It was a pleasant Friday morning in Stars Hollow. Luke and William parked the family truck out front of the Independence Inn. Mia had called them that morning about a plumbing issue in the kitchen, one that had apparently left Sookie St. James, the young and new head chef fresh out of culinary school, in tears. Even though they now ran a Diner, the Danes men still did a few basic repairs on the side, usually just for the neighbors and close friends. And Mia was practically family; she had watched Luke and his sister, Liz, grow up.

As they entered the lobby, father and son spotted Lorelai pushing a cleaning cart, atop of which sat two-year-old Rory, waving her chubby fingers at all of the mingling guests. By now, the toddler had become a crowd favorite at the Inn; Mia said Rory sometimes helped ensure that guests would return. Rory now waved at the Danes men, familiar enough with both to know them by sight. Lorelai's face lit up when she saw them.

"Morning, boys."

"Good morning, Lorelai," William smiled kindly, tickling a finger under Rory's chin. "Mia working you hard?"

"Oh, it's not so bad. Cleaning the bathrooms is finally starting to feel less like Journey to the Center of the Earth."

"A feces-filled Earth at least," Luke observed dryly.

"Dirty," Lorelai grinned, not minding the graphic language even as William sent a disapproving look towards his son. "But what are you guys doing here?"

"Plumbing issue in the kitchen," Luke offered up. "Sookie is in a panic."

"Oh yeah, she was going on and on about it this morning," Lorelai remembered the stress of her good friend. "Straight back that way," she directed them.

"Thanks," William grinned. "Say, when do you and Rory get off work?"

"Early today. At 3." Lorelai grinned broadly. She suddenly gasped at a realization. "Why Mr. Danes, are you asking me out?" She teasingly asked with a put-on Southern accent.

There was a gargling noise as Luke appeared to swallow his tongue. But only William noticed and clapped his son on the back with a chortle. "No, then I'd never hear the end of it from my son. But why don't you and Rory come round back of the Diner? We're whipping up a barbecue for this beautiful sunny day..."

"... and Dad doesn't want to store the leftovers," Luke finished, his demeanor back to its normal, dry self.

Lorelai giggled. "All right, then. It's a date. See you boys at 3!" And she pushed the cart away, Rory turning on her little bottom to wave. "Buh-bye! Buh-bye!" she squealed.

* * *

At 3 PM, Lorelai and Rory met the Danes boys in their backyard. Lorelai had changed out of her maid clothes into a pretty sundress that she had recently purchased with some of her spending money. Luke tried not to blink too rapidly upon seeing her. And also not acknowledge the knowing looks his father sent his way.

William cooked up a storm at the grill, while Lorelai sat in the grass, her dress fanning out around her and with Rory on her lap. Glowing, the young mother bounced Rory up and down in her arms, cooing a little tune to her:

 _"All I want is a room somewhere, far away from the cold night air, with one big, enormous chair. Oh, wouldn't it be loverly?"_

Luke strolled over to the Gilmore girls with a plate for Lorelai, and some milk and carrots for Rory. "Here you gals go. Bon appetit!"

Rory shrieked with delight, and reached up for him. "Daddy!"

Luke and Lorelai both froze in shock. Only William seemed to think it was funny, chuckling in amusement as he flipped a burger.

"Oh no, sweets!" Lorelai tried to recover, sharing an apologetic look with Luke. "That's not Daddy! That's our good friend Luke!"

Rory's cerulean blue eyes frowned as her little mind tried to work out this puzzle. "Wuke?" she mispronounced Luke's name, uncertain as she tried to sound the new word out. It sounded harder to say than Daddy.

No one noticed how Luke's expression had gone from shock to tender pride to hurt in a matter of moments.

* * *

It was a busy Saturday morning in Luke's Diner. Lorelai had come with Rory in tow extra early. The bathtub that William and Luke had recently installed in the potting shed had broken its showerhead, so Lorelai had accepted Luke's offer for them to bathe at the Diner until they could fix it. Lorelai could have used a bathroom in one of the empty guest rooms at the Inn, but she felt it wouldn't be right.

Now Lorelai was done with her shower, and downstairs having breakfast, at William's insistence. She had finished bathing and dressing Rory, and had only come down when Luke volunteered to help Rory brush her teeth and finish grooming. Both would be downstairs from the Loft soon.

Just then, the bell over the Diner tinkled. "Lore?"

Lorelai spun around to find Christopher Hayden, Rory's father, in the doorway. "Christopher! What are you doing here?"

Christopher smiled in that easy-going swagger of his. "I asked around town, and was told I'd find you here." He surveyed the Diner. "Nice joint... you and Rory come here often?"

"Every day," Lorelai offered up quietly.

Christopher suddenly frowned. "Wait... where _is_ Rory?"

It was just then that laughter came down the stairs. Luke appeared, carrying Rory piggy-back and swinging her around. "Higher, Wuke! Higher!" She was in absolute delight.

Christopher stared as Luke and Rory reached the base of the stairs. "And who are you?"

Luke glanced up and blinked at the guy standing next to Lorelai. He gingerly set Rory down, registering how she clung to his leg. "Luke Danes. Nice to meet you." Luke held out a hand, but Christopher did not reciprocate.

"Pleasure," the young Hayden got out through gritted teeth.

Lorelai tried to defuse the awkwardness that was rapidly congealing around them. "Uh, Luke, this is Christopher Hayden. Rory's dad."

Luke sent an eyebrow disappearing into his hairline. So this was the man responsible for the little princess's existence! "What a wonderful surprise!" he tried to sound warm, but it felt forced.

Christopher did not attempt to move past the tense tableau. "What the hell are you doing, playing Daddy to my kid?" His leather jacket ruffled around his shoulders as he rounded on Lorelai, without waiting for an answer from a speechless Luke. "Is this why you're here everyday, Lore? Are you living here? You sleeping with him?"

"Chris!" Lorelai snapped, her patience fraying. "Lower your voice! And watch your language in front of our daughter!"

The reminder of Rory made Christopher address her presence for the first time. Kneeling before her, he held out his arms. "Rory, don't you have a kiss for Daddy?"

Rory frowned, as if she was regarding a stranger. "Daddy?" she echoed tentatively, unsure.

"Yes. Daddy," Christopher smiled encouragingly. But Rory did not let go of Luke's leg. Instead, she stared up at the young Diner owner and asked, "Daddy?"

Luke eyed her nervously, as Christopher looked something between crushed and enraged. Desperate to get out of this situation, Luke was saved by his father calling, "Luke! I have Rory's breakfast ready."

"All right," and in full view of Christopher, Luke scooped Rory up and slid past him to place Rory in the wooden high chair. Christopher swiveled back to Lorelai, armed with seemingly confirmation of what he had just theorized.

"We've been trying to have her stop calling him..." Lorelai began.

" _We_?" Christopher raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on, Lore - she did not get there by herself..."

"Of course she did! She could get to the third dimension by herself! She's started helping out the crossing guard whenever we cross the street! Luke is always around, whereas this is, what... the third time you've seen your daughter since she was born?"

"So you are shacking up and playing house with... _him_ ," Christopher threw back a finger in Luke's direction, his voice dripping with disgust.

Lorelai gawked in offense. "No! Rory and I come here everyday to eat. We've been living in the potting shed back by the Inn! Luke is just a friend!"

Christopher snorted. "Sure he is."

William now approached the two teenagers. "I think you should go, son." His address to Christopher was gentle, but laced with warning.

Fuming, Christopher stormed out in a huff. He didn't even say goodbye to Rory. Lorelai gently went up to Luke and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's fine," Luke nudged off, feeding Rory a spoonful of bite-sized sausage. "So... that was Rory's father."

Lorelai winced, feeling palpable embarrassment. "Yes..."

"He a biker, with that jacket?"

"No, but he might as well be, with how he just flits in and out of our lives."

Luke thought about that punk never sticking around for his daughter, and uncharacteristically let his anger burn to the surface. "I would never do that to Rory if... if..." His courage failed him, and he was too flustered to finish the conditional statement. Lorelai just patted his shoulder, seeming to understand.

"I know."

* * *

Lorelai burst into the Diner one Monday morning, with a wailing Rory on one hip.

"I need coffee, stat!" she barked, more than a little frazzled. "And we ran out of milk at the shed!"

Luke didn't even argue with her about the coffee. He didn't even think. He filled a mug with the brown manna, and then a bottle for Rory, springing to the Gilmore Girls' side. Rory eagerly grasped the bottle and began to guzzle it down, her wailing now ceased.

"Oh, thank God!" Lorelai sighed, affectionately hugging Luke good morning. "You saved the day again!"

"Here: give her to me," and Luke accepted a passed-off Rory, bouncing the toddler in his arms. "Was that all? The milk?"

"Let's hope. Although, I couldn't get her down last night; it was like Michael Keaton's Batman suddenly invaded our home..."

Just then, the bell over the door tinkled. When Luke turned around, Rory still in his arms, he nearly dropped the little girl in utter shock. "Rachel..."

His former girlfriend stared at the young Danes, a toddler on his hip, in disbelief. "Wow, Luke... I didn't know you had a kid."

Before Luke could explain the situation, Rachel's eyes found Lorelai's. "Congratulations. You married quite a good one."

Lorelai's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Oh... we're not..."

"Rachel..." Luke entreated. "This isn't what it looks like."

But Rachel ignored them both. "I came back to give us another try, but... I'll just go..." She quickly fled the Diner.

William emerged from the back kitchen. "Hello, girls. Did I just... see Rachel leave?"

"Not now, Dad," Luke tried to sidestep.

"Who's Rachel?" Lorelai asked.

Luke turned a very prominent shade of red. "Ex-girlfriend. But she skipped town about three years ago, after we broke up."

Lorelai gazed at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I can see why she would misconstrue."

Luke handed Rory gingerly back to her. "It's not your fault," his voice unusually gentle.


	3. Chapter 3: Schooling

**Chapter 3: Schooling**

"What would you like for your birthday, sweets?"

Lorelai was relaxing in the potting shed one summer Monday evening with Rory. Her little girl was 3, almost 4; she would turn 4 in a few months. Rory's deep blue eyes thought for a moment before she came to an answer.

"I want a bookcase!"

Lorelai kept a smile on her face externally, but inside her heart sank. She was slowly but surely saving up funds, but the Gilmore girls still had very little in the way of spending money. Budget constraints meant Lorelai could only afford to buy Rory a few books at a time. Even so, in the last few years, a decent collection of reading material had been accrued. Lorelai could see why Rory would want a place to organize it all, but the young mother did not have to check her pocketbook to know a bookcase would be a long way away.

But she only now said, "We'll think about it, pumpkin." She stood, readying her purse. "I have to pop down to Luke's for a second. Sookie will be watching you from the Inn. Keep the door closed and only answer if it's me or Sookie, OK?" Lorelai kissed Rory on the forehead, then jogged down to the Diner.

The eatery was close to dead; there was only about 30 minutes left until closing time. She found Luke wiping down the counters.

"I need a quick mug of your heavenly goodness!" Lorelai requested.

"If by heavenly goodness, you mean 2% milk," Luke growled dryly.

"Think again, buddy."

"Clearly, you slept through the lecture where they talked about how coffee keeps you up at night."

"Ah, but you see, coffee for me is like an evening shower. If I could actually shower in coffee, I would. I could fall asleep afterwards just fine."

Luke groaned as he reluctantly prepared Lorelai's coffee. "You're not human."

"But you love me anyway," Lorelai beamed, happy to have gotten what she wanted.

"Yeah - enough to want to throw you off the clock tower." Luke's grumbling eased just a little, as he and his favorite patron fell into a more normal flow of conversation. "Where's Rory?"

"In the shed; Sookie's watching her."

"Well, that can't be what's bothering you." Luke could hear it in her voice.

Lorelai sighed. "Rory wants a bookcase for her birthday. But I can't afford it."

"But it's July. Her birthday's not till October. October..." he suddenly reached over towards the calendar thumbtacked on the counter's back wall and flipped through it. "October 8th!"

Lorelai peered at him, amused. "You have my daughter's birthday written into your calendar?"

Luke all at once turned beet red. He shuffled his feet as he mumbled. "Just for... business purposes. You know, so I have a good reason to give you coffee without a fuss. A discount. Special occasion, ya know?"

"Uh-huh," Lorelai's smile twinkled, not convinced.

"Anything else I should know about?" Luke changed the subject gently.

"Nah. I have a conference this Friday night in the Inn. Whole staff is required to go, so Sookie's out as a babysitter for Rory..."

"I could do it," Luke shrugged.

Lorelai blinked. "Really?"

"Sure, I'll close early."

"6:00?"

"You got it."

Lorelai grinned. "You're the best, Luke!"

"Yeah, yeah, now make a break with your coffee before I pour it down the drain!"

* * *

That Friday evening, Luke pulled up past the Inn, off-roading in the grass until he could park right in front of the potting shed. Lorelai stepped out, roused by the hum of the engine.

"Couldn't you have walked?" she teased.

"No," Luke hopped out of the truck and circled round to the flatbed. "Because there is no way... I was lugging this all the way up the hill."

Lorelai put a hand to her mouth to stifle the gasp. "Please tell me you didn't make that yourself! In a week!"

But he had. Luke Danes had carved an entire bookcase for Rory, complete with her name on it. Just as he had for her high chair when she was a baby. "I know it's a few months early but..."

Lorelai gazed at him adoringly. "I could kiss you right now!"

Luke's stare intensified unexpectedly, but quickly vanished upon hearing the shriek from the potting shed door.

Rory bounded outside and threw her arms around the bookcase. "Is this for me? I love it!"

Luke gave her one of his rare smiles. "Happy Birthday three months early, princess."

Rory unexpectedly wound her arms around Luke's legs, tugging there as she tried to guide him back to the shed. "Mommy said you're watching me tonight!"

"Sure am!"

Lorelai grinned. "I'll leave you to it. And Luke... thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, his eyes for once warm.

When Lorelai returned across the grass from her conference a few hours later, the lights in the shed were still on. A single voice ruminated from within. Peeking her eyes through the crack, Lorelai saw Rory snuggled fast asleep against Luke's side, on the bed she and her daughter shared.

"Mercy is twice blessed. It blesses him that gives and him that takes..." Luke was gently rumbling a famous passage from the Merchant of Venice. Lorelai still could not believe Rory was starting to read Shakespeare, even if this book was a watered-down version for children. Rory was gifted; that was clear.

Noticing Rory asleep, Luke paused in his reading. He gently shifted away, placed the book in the new bookcase and then... kissed her forehead. He seemed startled when Lorelai opened the door immediately after.

"She's asleep," he reported.

Lorelai smiled tenderly. "I know. Thank you, Luke."

* * *

The night was quiet outside of the Diner several weeks later. Lorelai had come right to the Diner after her shift with Rory in tow, for an evening meal... and also for a place to go over paperwork. The dinner rush had long since ended, the Diner long since closed. Still, Luke allowed her to stay and work. Besides, Rory had fallen asleep at the counter hours ago, prompting Luke to carry her upstairs to the bed in the Loft he shared with his dad. Even if the little girl woke, William would be there for her, having retired early himself.

Luke noticed how Lorelai had been agonizing over the same form for the last fifteen minutes. She didn't even look up when, against his better judgement, he placed a steaming hot cup of Joe in front of her.

"OK, when you don't even acknowledge your drug addiction placed right before you, not all is right in Whoville. What's up?"

Lorelai sighed and showed him the form. "I want to enroll Rory in preschool this fall. Stars Hollow Elementary has a good program."

"But...?" Luke nudged.

"I don't have enough for the tuition entrance fee," she practically whispered.

Luke thought for a moment. "It's the closest for you and Rory. But are there others less expensive?"

"Yes, but farther afield. I can't be driving her out close to Hartford and hope I'll make it back to the Inn on time!"

"OK, then: closer seems like a higher priority. Is Stars Hollow Elementary's programming suitable for Rory's learning needs?"

"I think so. Mrs. Tatiana is the teacher all the parents clamor for. Everyone says she's excellent. She would challenge Rory. It's just... these damn funds..."

"And Rory would matriculate through the Elementary... and then eventually, what? Stars Hollow High?"

Lorelai sighed, trying not to think so far into the future. "Probably. But matriculation there is easier if you go through Stars Hollow Elementary; it's a feeder school..."

As she was talking, Luke was pulling out a checkbook. Having read the remaining balance needed for Rory's tuition, he quickly signed a check for the amount and held it out to Lorelai. She stared at him, astonished and pleading.

"Luke... no..."

"Yes," he pushed back. "I know you've never liked handouts but please. I want to. I feel... responsible for Rory... in a way. And if you asked my father, I think he would agree. And if anyone deserves a good education, that child certainly does. Please, Lorelai."

Smiling softly, Lorelai accepted the check. "What would I do without you?"

"You would have overdosed on caffeine a long time ago from some other supplier," he deadpanned, even as his eyes twinkled with dry mirth.

* * *

It was a crisp October morning, soon after Rory's fourth birthday. Luke was fixing a porch railing out back of the Inn when the Gilmore girls' burst out of the potting shed.

"I'm late!" Lorelai cried. "Rory, sweetie, we need to run down to your school..."

Luke intercepted her. "Get in there and report to Mia. I'll drive Rory in my truck."

Lorelai didn't have time to argue. "Rory, get in Luke's truck!" she ordered over her shoulder. She now sent him a grateful glance. "You're always here when I need you." She kissed him on the cheek, failing to notice how elated Luke seemed by the affection.

Luke ran around to the driver's side and hopped in. He knew where the Elementary school was, having attended there when he was a boy, many moons ago. "Wanna listen to some radio, Rory?"

Rory smiled, thrilled by her new transportation to school. "Yes, please!" A Bryan Adams song now came over the airwaves, and she squealed with recognition, singing along: _"I got my first real six-string, bought it at the five-and-dime..."_

Luke smirked in amusement. _"Played it till my fingers bled. It was the Summer of '69..."_

Pretty soon, Diner man and preschooler were jamming down the roads of Stars Hollow, belting out the tune. _"Those were the best days of my life..."_

Luke should have been paying better attention. He ran right through the single traffic light in the Square, just around the corner from the school... so that an SUV with the green ran out and T-boned him. In the flash immediately after the impact, Luke threw out an arm to shield Rory as the airbags deployed...

* * *

Lorelai had gotten the call from the Stars Hollow Police soon after getting her cleaning cart. Mia had waved her down from the front desk with the news. Now in a panic, Lorelai ran all the way into town, where the cops were surveying the accident. An officer tried to stop her by the roadblock set up.

"No, please, you don't understand... that's my baby over there..." Lorelai darted around to where she saw Rory being checked over by paramedics, passing Luke on the way, where he was slumped on the sidewalk.

"Luke!"

"Rory, go help Rory!" He waved her on, distraught. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." He buried his head in his hands.

It turns out that Rory only had a few minor cuts. Relieved her daughter was OK, Lorelai rejoined Luke. "She's fine... thank God..." Then she noticed the blood staining Luke's torn flannel. "Luke? What happened to your arm?"

Luke's eyes locked with hers. "I stopped it. I stopped the airbag."

* * *

Despite Lorelai insisting up and down that the accident was in no way Luke's fault, she could not shake his conviction that he shouldn't drive Rory to school anymore.

Nevertheless, Luke managed to assist Rory with her education in another way.

Stars Hollow Elementary could be seen from across the square, through the Diner's windows. Every day at 2:00, the preschool would let out ahead of the older kids.

And every day at 2:00, Luke would abruptly drop whatever he was doing and leave to pick up Rory across the square, walking her back to the Diner where she would stay until Lorelai got off work.

Just as he did on this rainy day. When the timer went off on the counter, Luke grabbed his umbrella. "Caesar, hold down the fort!" And Luke jogged across the square, approaching the school steps as Rory came out in a little Hello Kitty raincoat.

Luke playfullly bowed. "Madame: may I have the pleasure?" He offered her his arm, which she gratefully accepted with a shy smile. Hand in hand, the pair walked back to the Diner, Rory beaming at Luke, while Luke gazed at her as though she was the reason the sun rose in the morning. Entering the eatery, Rory took her usual place at the counter while Luke relieved Caesar of head duties.

"You have homework?"

"Just spelling words," Rory told her father figure.

"I'll help you. What's the first one?" Luke prompted.

"Cat. C-A-T. Cat."

Luke looked over her paper. "Tree," he quizzed.

"T-R-E-I?"

"Close. It's two Es."

And Rory and Luke continued practicing spelling words until Lorelai arrived.


	4. Chapter 4: Illness

**Chapter 4: Illness**

The knock on the potting shed door in the middle of the night roused Lorelai from a deep sleep. 5-year-old Rory stirred against her mother, but did not wake. Slipping out of bed and grumbling to herself, Lorelai crossed to the door and opened it before Rory too was roused. Who in the hell...?

Lorelai stopped short when she saw it was Luke. His face was pale and he was sweating profusely. The skin around his eyes looked red and puffy. "Luke? What the...?"

"My dad - he's just been taken to the emergency room! The cancer..." Luke's voice broke and he could not finish.

Lorelai's hand went to her mouth. William Danes had been battling cancer for the last few years; he had been diagnosed not long after the Gilmores had moved to Stars Hollow. Rory did not know the full extent of the illness, and Luke and Lorelai had both agreed it would be too hard to explain to her, despite how brilliant and mature Rory was for her age. They didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.

"Will you come with me...?" Luke began asking. Lorelai placed a comforting hand on his chest.

"Of course." And she crossed back to the bed in her nightgown and shook Rory awake. "Rory? Baby? Come with Mommy; we have to go on a little trip."

Rory was rubbing the sleep from her eyes as the girls emerged from the shed and Luke escorted them to his truck. The drive to the hospital was eerily silent, and the truck's creaky sway actually lulled Rory back to sleep.

Despite being the wee hours of the morning, the emergency ward was bustling when Luke and the girls got there. Luke approached a receptionist at the front desk.

"Have you heard from a Liz Mariano yet?" he inquired, and Lorelai wondered if he had requested that such a phone call be made earlier.

The receptionist regarded Luke apologetically. "No, sir, we have not been able to get through."

"Figures," Luke huffed. He did not seem surprised. But his exasperated, defeated response masked a deep-seated rage. Lorelai knew that Luke did not have the best relationship with his sister. Personally, she had never met the woman. She only knew that Liz was about her age, a teen mom like herself with a son about Rory's age, maybe a year older. Luke had not seen either of them since the boy had been born.

A nurse finally escorted the trio back to William's hospital room. The old man was awake, conscious, thankfully. And his stubborn self. But the joie de vivre that Lorelai had always seen in him was gone. Upon seeing the Gilmore girls, William's countenance relaxed, giving him an almost peaceful quality. He seemed particularly fixed on Rory.

"Rory," he called softly. "Come here."

By now awoken again from the sounds of the hospital, Rory wanted to obey. But seeing Papa William in that bed, looking so sick, she felt a great sense of foreboding grip her; she could not move from Lorelai's arms. So Lorelai carried her forward, William beckoning.

"Yes, yes, bring her here to me." Lorelai set Rory down on the bed, and the little girl moved forward to curl into William's side. Old man and child lay there together for a moment in silence. At last, with great effort, William spoke:

"Rory... I have to go away soon. And it will be a very long time before you see me again."

"Why, Papa William?" Rory asked meekly, her voice threatening tears.

"It is just time, sweetie. Sometimes, you just need to go. Even when... you might not be ready to. But I want you to understand something, young lady: I am so glad to have had you in my life. Your mother as well. I love you like a granddaughter - and I have a grandchild. Jess. Maybe you'll meet him someday. Just promise me you'll be a good little girl, and do great things with your life. Will you promise me?"

"I promise, Papa," Rory said quietly.

William kissed her forehead. "Go to your mother now." And Rory scampered off the bed and clung to Lorelai's leg. William turned to his son.

"Luke... may I have a moment alone with Lorelai?"

 _Me?_ Lorelai blinked. _Why me?_ But Luke obeyed, gently taking Rory by the hand and leading her out of the room. Once they were alone, Lorelai tentatively approached the bed. Once she was within reach, William grasped her hand tightly, a sad smile on his face.

"My dear girl... you remind me so much of my Liz. It has been a privilege to know you in my last years. And I know Luke would agree..." He took a deep labored breath. "Luke is not going to take my death well, Lorelai, so please... take care of my son." His gaze was so intense, and Lorelai was shaken to feel like he was boring into her very soul. "Please, Lorelai - take care of my son."

Lorelai nodded without her brain telling it to. Even as her thoughts whirled. Did William know something that she didn't? Or that she did, but had just not yet come to accept? Did he expect her to take care of Luke in a... romantic sense, or just as a friend? Lorelai did not know the answer, but could only hope that whatever William expected of her, she could give it to Luke.

William squeezed her hand. "Live a great life, Lorelai. You are already doing wonderful things and I am very proud of you."

Lorelai now allowed herself to cry. "Thank you. For caring for me and Rory. Thank you."

William merely nodded. "Can you call my son in, please?"

Lorelai obeyed, and waited outside in the hall with Rory, even after the sun rose. Several hours later, a distraught Luke emerged to report that his father was dead.

* * *

It was a busy day at the Independence Inn. Lorelai Gilmore was running herself ragged working the front desk. Just as Michel was talking in her ear about some wedding guests arriving for their event, the front desk phone rang.

"Independence Inn. This is Lorelai Gilmore speaking….. Oh, hi, Mrs. Saunders… What?... Rory has the chicken pox? Oh….. is she burning up?... 102? Oh, God….." Lorelai bit her lip. "I don't know if I can get away from the Inn…. Of course, I understand you have to send her home…." She got a sudden flash of inspiration. "Mrs. Saunders, I have an idea, let me call you back!" She hung up before immediately dialing another number…..

Lunch rush was always busy at Luke's Diner. Luke Danes was trying to keep himself calm, or at least relatively less gruff, as he took his customers' orders. Suddenly, the phone rang on the wall. Just what he needed….. but he picked up anyway.

"Luke's Diner."

"Luke? It's Lorelai."

"Well, that explains why you're not in here, nagging me for your coffee."

"Rough day," Lorelai explained. "And it just got worse! Rory's school called and she has the chicken pox! I can't get away from the Inn."

Luke dropped everything. "I'm so there. I'll get her!"

"Would you? Oh, Luke, thank you!" Lorelai gushed.

"Wait – what if they ask why I'm there?"

"Just tell them Lorelai Gilmore sent you and you won't have a bit of trouble. You're the best ever, Luke!"

Luke ended the call, yelling for Caesar to hold down the fort as he raced for his truck to head for Stars Hollow Elementary School.

When Luke arrived at the school, he followed the signs to the nurse's office. There, he found 8-year-old Rory Gilmore with red dots all over her face, hot with a fever, and coughing. Luke's heart went out to the little girl.

"Luke? What are you doing here?"

"Your mom couldn't get away from the Inn, honey. She tapped me to come pick you up." Luke noticed the nurse frown. "If you need proof, I can get her mother on the phone right now." This he did, and Lorelai confirmed her consent. Permission in writing may have been preferable, but as this was an unforeseen circumstance, such a luxury was not an option for the school. Picking Rory up as though she weighed nothing, Luke carried her to his truck and placed her in the passenger seat. He then set his sights on Number 37, Maple Street. The Gilmore girls had only lived there for a few months, as with Lorelai's promotion at the Inn, she had finally saved up enough money to purchase a proper home. Luke had celebrated with her late at the Diner one night once the purchase was finalized; he was relieved the girls were finally out of that godforsaken potting shed.

Rory fell asleep on the drive over. Upon arriving home, Luke carried her into the house, letting himself in through the spare key that Lorelai had hidden; she had directed him as to where it was. Luke then carried Rory upstairs, going room to room until he found what must be her bed. Placing the little girl into it, he removed her socks and shoes before letting her sleep on the comforter. Tucking her in would be a poor choice, considering she had a fever. And he figured that it was Lorelai's place to change Rory into jammies if she wanted to. All Luke could do at this point was to kiss Rory's forehead. It was burning. "Good girl. Rest easy." Stealing back downstairs, he figured out how to operate the TV, waiting on the couch until Lorelai came home.

The elder Gilmore arrived a few hours later, around dusk. "Oh, Luke, you didn't have to stay!"

"The heck you talking about? Couldn't leave Rory in the house all alone! Besides, I cleared it with Caesar. I'll be back to work in the morning."

Lorelai pointed up the stairs. "Is she…..?"

"She fell asleep on the drive back and hasn't moved since. I didn't tuck her in, given how hot she is; her forehead is burning. Shoes and socks removed, but I left the rest up to you."

"You are a saint!" Lorelai patted his shoulder affectionately. Then she sprang into action, rushing for the kitchen to grab medicine. Luke followed her.

"Do you want me to stay? Cause I can….."

"Oh, no, don't let me keep you! You've done more than enough, Luke. Thank you."

Luke nodded, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "Say goodbye to Rory for me. And call me with any updates." Then he left.

It was the middle of the night when Luke was pulled from a deep sleep by the ringing of his apartment phone. Living above the diner as he did, he sometimes didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse to have two phones in the same building, especially at this time of night. But he reached over and picked up anyhow. "Hello?"

"Oh, Luke, I'm sorry, I woke you up, didn't I?"

Lorelai's voice woke up Luke faster than he otherwise would have. "Is Rory OK?"

"Her fever's spiked. She woke up just a little bit ago. She was calling for her Daddy."

Luke groaned, remembering Lorelai's grousing about Christopher, the deadbeat dad who had ensured Rory's existence and then little else. Luke had only met the man once, when Rory was a toddler, and yet the punk still somehow managed to maintain an almost mythical quality, with how little he appeared in Rory's life. "Oh, I'm sorry….."

"No, don't be, it's just that…. when I tried to explain to her, Rory said, 'No! Daddy! Luke!' I think….. when she said Daddy, she meant you."

There was a brief pause as Luke considered this. He found himself blushing, even as his brain tried to brush it off with some joke about how Rory must have passed the chicken pox off to him. "I'm coming right over."

"Luke, it's OK, it's the middle of the night…."

"No arguments. I'm coming."

Luke didn't even have to ring the doorbell for Lorelai to let him in. Upon entering, he took the stairs two at a time to reach Rory's room. He found the tween sitting up in bed, coughing and with hot tears running down her cheeks.

"Daddy, it hurts…" Rory moaned, looking directly at Luke. But there was something about the look in her eyes that indicated she was not all there.

"She's delirious," Luke concluded without a hint of irony, hoping his diagnosis did not come off as some denial of Rory's claim that he was her father. He turned to Lorelai. "Have you given her any more medicine?"

"I have. Twice!" Lorelai said, her eyes filled with worry.

Luke racked his brain, then suddenly remembered when he and his sister Liz had gotten the chicken pox as children. "Lorelai, do you have any bubble bath mix?"

She nodded.

"Get it, and run a bath filled with it. We need to get Rory cool."

Lorelai obeyed lickety-split. Fetching the bubble bath mix, she and Luke split forces. He filled the bath, while she stripped Rory and then carried her to the tub. Luke dutifully waited outside the bathroom until Rory was submerged. Lorelai then let him back in. Luke sat on the tiles next to the tub.

"How you feeling, princess?"

"I feel cooler. It's just that….. I woke up and it was dark. And you were gone."

Luke glanced away, even though he had nothing to be ashamed about. "Sorry, kiddo. I waited until your mom came home from work, and she took it from there."

Rory leaned back in the tub, her eyes fluttering as she began to drift off in the suds of the tub. She blindly reached for Luke's hand. "Daddy, I want mashed potatoes."

Chalking up her 'Daddy' reference to her still being in a delirious state, Luke laughed. "All right, princess. I promise I'll make you as much mashed potatoes as you want."

Within minutes, Rory was asleep in the tub. When Luke readily agreed to stay the night without being asked to, Lorelai looked thoroughly grateful. She gave him a hug from behind. "You're my hero."

For the next week, Luke slept on the Gilmores' couch. He had Caesar take over duties at the diner, opting instead to stay home all day, every day and cater to Rory's every whim while Lorelai was working at the Inn. Such duties pretty much consisted of cooking pan after pan of mashed potatoes. When Luke had exhausted Lorelai's entire supply of the foodstuff, he would briefly leave Rory in the house as he popped over to Taylor Doose's grocery to buy more. In fact, mashed potatoes were all Rory would eat for that entire week.

* * *

It was a beautiful day when Rory walked into the Diner looking quite forlorn. Well, she more like flittered in, wearing a pair of fairy angel wings across her back. Luke had heard from Lorelai that the 10-year-old had developed a recent fixation on fairies. Tinker Bell paraphernalia scattered the house at Number 37 Maple, and Rory had even gone as the Disney fairy for Halloween.

But on this sunny November morning, there was no spring in Rory's step, as she seemed to be cradling something in the palm of her hand. She did not even order anything upon taking a seat at the counter; Luke had to prompt her with an apple pandowdy scone.

"What's the matter, princess?"

Rory raised her eyes to meet Luke's, her pouty lips quivering, her baby blues swimming with tears. "My pet caterpillar died."

 _She has a pet... caterpillar?_ But Luke tried to quickly move past that thought, as voicing it aloud would probably due little to help. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that," he expressed, trying to sound as genuine as he could.

There was a moment of silence, and then: "Luke?"

"Yes, princess?"

Rory finally got out in a whisper: "I'm holding a funeral. For Sir Snickle. Will you come?"

Luke blinked. "Sir Snickle is the... caterpillar?"

"Yes. His funeral is this afternoon. Will you come?"

Staring into her deep blue eyes... Lorelai's eyes... Luke could absolutely not say no. He smiled at her gently. "Of course I'll come. And tell you what: why don't I help you bury him?"

* * *

That afternoon, Luke left the Diner early and made his way over to Number 37 Maple Street. During his lunch hour, he had quickly fashioned a small wooden box out of some wood he found out back, amongst his dad's old hardware supplies. He had even engraved SIR SNICKLE across the top with a penknife.

Digging a small hole under the large tree in the Gilmore girls' front yard, Luke held out the box so that Rory could gingerly place the caterpillar inside. Placing the box in the hole, Luke filled it with earth as gently as he could.

Lorelai watched the whole thing from the Gilmores' front porch. She herself teared up when Rory said a few words in memory of her pet, and Luke just gave her a one-armed hug as though the sentiments were perfectly natural.

 _He is always there for her... and for me..._ Lorelai thought, her heart swelling with happiness.


	5. Chapter 5: I Will Always Be There

**Chapter 5: I Will Always Be There**

It was the busy lunch rush at Luke's Diner. Luke was lunging from customer to customer, filling coffee mugs that seemed to appear right under his nose from thin air. Occasionally, when he was given the chance to breath (and Kirk let up on his incessant gabbing), Luke had a chance to glance out the window.

The Diner had the best view of Stars Hollow, in his opinion. He much rather preferred the sight of the town itself than the people living in it. With only a few exceptions. When the sun was bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, you could see all the way to Al's Pancake World almost. And the sight of Stars Hollow High was unencumbered across the square.

With his sights now on his old alma mater, Luke could see a familiar face on a bench just beneath the steps of the school, her nose predictably in a book. Rory had blossomed into a young woman, a 16-year-old with superior intellect and big dreams. Luke also noted with pride that she had inherited her mother's beauty - a mousy, quiet kind of attractiveness that he was sure would lure boys in. The very thought, however, made him clench the dish rag in his hand. Rory wasn't allowed to date! She wasn't old enough! He bet Lorelai would at least agree with him on that point.

It was fortuitous, that Luke happened to be looking in Rory's direction. For he now observed a group of boys - jocks, from the make of their letterman jackets - approach the studious girl and begin to tease her. Luke couldn't hear what they were saying, but from the body language, they were clearly annoying Rory. They never grew up, did they? Especially the guys. Some athletic brutes like that still thought the only way to flirt with a girl was to pester her. Sure, that might work in puppy-love kindergarten, but not at this age. Not on the cusp of the real-world. When would boys be real men and not apes?

One jock now grabbed Rory's book and began tossing it back and forth to his friends. Malcom in the Middle. How cruel. When Rory tried to retrieve the text, the boys laughed and pushed her to the ground.

Luke's protectiveness now went into overdrive. This was the kind of drunken, brutish, emotionally retarded behavior that led boys to do worse things to a girl. Like rape her. Springing out of the diner, he sprinted across the square.

The jock now in possession of the book and laughing had his back turned to the curmudgeonly, strong diner owner. Luke's fist now hurled into the back of his skull, so that the jock went down with a crash. His friends stood agape, and the only thing that could have made the moment more humiliating was if every single one of them had their tiny thumbs up their asses. Because you know what they say about men with tiny thumbs, especially if those men happen to be jocks...

And the jock who Luke attacked now thought he could play the tough guy. How quaint. He lunged for Luke, with the elder man easily sidestepping it, then seizing the youth by the collar and pinning him to a tree.

"If you ever touch my daughter again, I will personally ensure you can never reproduce, or speak, or do anything useful with yourself! Am I understood?" Luke bellowed into his face, with such force that a gale of wind seemed to blow through the jock's hair, like those cartoons sometimes showed.

The petrified jock nodded and scrambled away from Luke as soon as his grip loosened. His friends dithered after him, proverbial tails between their legs. Luke helped Rory to her feet, returning her book.

"You all right, princess?"

But Rory was still staring at Luke in shock, as if she had never seen him before. Luke didn't take much stock in that. Sure, Rory had seen him cranky before, but not... murderously enraged.

Indeed, Rory did not answer the question, instead saying, "Luke?"

"What is it, Rory?"

"You... you said I was your daughter..."

Luke froze, for the first time recalling those words he had said in anger.

"I... know you're not, but I still love you like you're mine," he finally willed himself to say.

And then - to his amazement - Rory began to cry. "I love you, Luke. You're the dad I always wanted." And she actually hugged him.

* * *

It was a few weeks before Luke saw Rory again, in a place that wasn't the Diner and with her mother. He was going through Dosse's Market, stocking up on that newer brand of coffee filters, and also some coffee beans, when he noticed Rory at the end of one aisle. Aisle 3, near the frozen goods. She had a box of corn starch in her hands, and was chatting up one of the grocers. The grocer was a young man, and not one of the jocks that had tormented Rory before, thankfully. He had just moved to Stars Hollow, Luke remembered.

Suddenly, the grocer boy swooped down and kissed Rory right on the mouth.

Rage. Hot, steaming, fire-red _rage_ coursed through Luke's veins. It was as though the sun were burning past his skin and getting right into his muscles, his very bones. How _dare_ that little motherfucker kiss his...

"Luke! You're spilling all over the floor!"

Taylor Dosse's voice shook Luke out of his father bear-like stupor, and it was only then that the diner owner noticed that his fist had clenched the coffee beans bag until he tore right through it. In the interim, the kiss ended, and a speechless Rory ran out of the store, somehow unnoticed by Taylor, with the corn starch. And without paying for it. The bagger boy, meanwhile, had a shit-eating grin on his face as he practically strolled back to the registers.

Luke stalked down the aisle. He'd wipe that smug little smirk off that little shit's face! He wouldn't be smiling so soon...

Now, Taylor had not noticed Rory accidentally shoplift. But he had noticed the end of the kiss. And Luke's disturbing reaction to it. And if anyone knew about Luke's bazooka of a temper, fired randomly and without regard or forethought, it was Taylor Dosse, for it was often he at the receiving end of it, taking the brunt of Luke's rants.

"What in heaven's name do you think you're doing, young man?"

"Don't call me that; you should be more careful about who you hire, Taylor! Now get outta my way!" Luke snarled.

But Taylor intercepted him. "I will not have you start a brawl in my store. Not on the Forrester lad's account. He's a nice boy, hard worker..."

"He kissed my little girl without her permission!" Luke almost bellowed it, but caught himself just in time. His voice was raised, but not overly so, so that only a few people nearby sent the pair of men curious glances.

Surprisingly, Taylor did not seem phased by Luke referencing Rory Gilmore as 'his little girl.' On the contrary, he actually smiled, which was a rare sight for him indeed. Almost as rare as seeing Luke want to murder someone in cold blood. Kirk was an insufferable nuisance, but Luke had never seriously considered putting _his_ head through a wall. "He's been staring after her for weeks, Luke. And Rory's growing up. There's nothing you can do about that."

"But... but she'd never go out with... _him_ ," Luke spluttered with disgust. Rory had more pride and sense than that, surely.

"Rory can make whatever choices she likes, God forbid. She's like her mother before her. But you can't make a scene and kill her suitor before she's made up her mind. Now get back to your diner." And Taylor shooed Luke out the door, making sure to give the cash register and Dean a wide berth.

* * *

It was late at night and the Diner was closed. Luke was almost done wiping down the counters, and was about to head upstairs to bed in the loft when he heard a knock at the door.

Upon seeing the identity of the visitor, his heart clenched. It was that teacher. From Chilton. The one who Lorelai was seeing. No... the one who she was now _engaged_ to... Just thinking the word made Luke want to throw up. The last thing he wanted to do was converse with this guy whom he'd personally seen kissing Lorelai, but Luke still felt the need to open the door, if only to announce, "We're closed."

"I know," Max - that was his name - shrugged. "I just thought we could talk for a minute."

Luke tried not to glare, or even give anything away on his face, as he reluctantly held open the door wider. Max slid past and took a seat at the counter. A few moments passed in silence before Luke nudged.

"Well, you came here to say something. Say it."

"I want you to stay away from Lorelai." Max said this as firmly as he could, but Luke could still detect a bit of fear in his voice, his body. He could almost smell it. Still, the directive was pointed and tense enough to surprise him.

"Uh..."

"We're getting married. And I can't have her giving people the wrong idea, hanging around you. Or around Rory, either."

Luke stared at him, his mouth open in disbelief. He wanted to laugh in this little fuck's face. He should feel proud, making this punk think there was anything at all going on between him and Lorelai, when she had given no overtures towards him in years of friendship. "Lorelai and I are just friends. She's been hanging around here for years, and so has Rory."

"Still, I want ..."

"I get it. Thank you. You won't have any troubles from me where Lorelai is concerned. But Rory ..."

"I'm going to be her stepfather," Max was close, but not quite, to saying this in righteous anger, and Luke half-expected him to finish that sentence with _and you're not_.

"Nevertheless, I will always be there for her. You may soon become her stepfather, but your job's easy. You get to waltz in there without having to do any of the work. Who was the one who fed her in her highchair? Me. Who was the one who changed her diapers while Lorelai was working? Me. Who was the one who read to her at night or cared for her when she was sick? Me. Who was the one she called 'Daddy' before even her own biological father? Me." Luke was not a vindictive fellow, but if there was one thing he had learned from the brief time his nephew Jess had been in Stars Hollow, it was how to twist the knife into a person. Rat-fuck them right where it hurt. And from the shaken look on Max's face, Luke knew his speech had worked. "I will stay away from Lorelai. I'm not like those people who break up marriages. But as for Rory... you know I can't do that."

Max stood furiously, nearly overturning his chair. Glaring at Luke, the teacher stormed out of the diner. But Luke could still feel the fear. Smell it. The fear that he might topple Max from his perch.

* * *

The very next morning, Luke was taking down Kirk's obnoxiously detailed order when Miss Patty burst into the Diner, her breasts seeming to heave with news.

"The wedding is off!" she bellowed.

"What wedding?" Luke asked, even as his heart alighted with hope at the news.

"Lorelai's! She broke it off with Max! She and Rory just up and disappeared for a road trip!"

Euphoria. Luke wanted to cry with relief. Turning to Kirk and probably smiling at the young man for the first time ever, Luke poured him a steaming mug of Joe. "Here, Kirk! Have a free cup of coffee!" He practically danced around the Diner this way. "And _you_ get a free cup of coffee! And _you_ get a free cup of coffee!"

Miss Patty smiled at the display knowingly. "OK, Oprah... I mean, Lucas. If you insist."


	6. Chapter 6: Will You Just Stand Still?

**Chapter 6: Will You Just Stand Still?**

Luke had never been more attracted to her in his life. It was odd, how their verbal sparring could be such a turn-on. He made a sudden move towards her, but Lorelai backed away.

"What are you doing?"

"Will you just stand still?" he growled.

And pulling her to him, he kissed her. _Hard_. Right on the mouth.

She stiffened in his embrace for a moment, before grabbing onto his shoulders for purchase. Meanwhile, Luke felt any thoughts he had ever had for Nicole or Rachel or any of the girls in his memory fly out of his head and his heart. He never wanted to kiss anyone else ever again...

At last, they broke apart. Lorelai looked almost speechless, and Luke thought he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life than her kissed lips, flushed with color. Kissed by him. She suddenly reached for him.

"What are you doing?"

Lorelai smiled gently. "Will you just stand still?"

And she kissed him back.

* * *

Lorelai and Luke stumbled almost violently into her house on Maple Street, making out furiously and tearing at each other's clothes as if they had wanted to for years. And they probably had.

Lorelai slammed Luke's naked form back onto her bed and scandalously mounted him, rolling her hips against his burgeoning erection.

"Lorelai..." Luke growled, his eyes dark with lust. "I have... loved you for years. I have... waited... forever for you. I can't wait much longer." He refused to be teased. So he flipped Lorelai onto her back and straddled her, quickly sheathing himself inside of her. He made love to her as if he had never made love to a woman in his life. Lorelai did not seem to mind, holding him close. Her deep brown eyes gazed up at him.

"Don't hold back," she pleaded with him.

"Oh..." Luke moaned and he thrust harder, cumming at last with a roar and flopping his body on top of her thin frame, but not enough to crush her.

The new lovers lay wrapped up in each other for many hours, watching the patterns of the moon shift along Lorelai's bedroom curtains. Luke kissed Lorelai everywhere: her breasts, her temple, her eyelids.

"I love you," he whispered. "And I love Rory." Thinking of his paramour's only child made him realize... Oh God... He was grinning like an idiot, kissing Lorelai whenever he could, even as he was overtaken by fear. "I don't know... what I'm gonna do... what will Rory say when she sees me around you... like this?"

Lorelai beamed at him lovingly, touched that he would think of her daughter in a moment like this. "She won't say anything." She bit her lip shyly. "She's wanted us together since she was like, six. Maybe younger. Remember how she used to call you 'Daddy'?"

Luke half-chuckled, half-growled in pleasure. "I remember."

Lorelai continued to smile. "I think it's sweet, that you value her opinion so highly."

"And I can't help but think that you must have looked exquisite, pregnant with Rory."

Lorelai flushed crimson. "Sure, the way Roseanne Barr looks exquisite."

Luke just laughed, shaking his head. "I only wish I had been around back then to see it."

* * *

The next morning, Luke and Lorelai were still tangled up in her bed. The pair had finally fallen into a blissful sleep, the sexual tension between them finally broken, never to return. Luke was just shaking off the last vestiges of slumber when he heard the bedroom door open.

His eyes focusing, he froze when he saw who it was. He hadn't expected her home from Yale yet. And for her to walk in on this... oh God... he had scarred her for life. "Rory..."

He expected her to scream. Wail in terror, or something. That was a typical reaction to walking in on two people after they had clearly done the dirty deed. But instead, Rory's face broke into a euphoric, triumphant smile. "About damn time! Finally!"

That was actually the reaction Luke feared more. And he was still covered with nothing but sheets. Rory's young, virgin eyes couldn't be burned by that. Ripping one sheet off the bed to keep his nether regions obscured, he let out some kind of strangled noise as he none too gently pushed Rory out of the room and practically slammed the door in her face. He ignored Rory's pounding on the door, which now woke up her mother.

"The fruit of my loins knows, then?"

"Did you really have to use that terminology _now_?" Luke growled at her, desperately hopping into his discarded pants. Lorelai quickly followed suit to dress. Once both were decent, Luke all but ran out of the house, Rory following him everywhere and rapidly firing question after question at him.

"When did this happen? Are you gonna move in? And make us pancakes for breakfast every morning? When are you and Mom getting married?"

Lorelai finally had to clap a hand over Rory's mouth to get her to shut up. "Jesus, Rory!"


	7. Chapter 7: Where the Hell Were You?

**Chapter 7: Where the Hell Were You?**

"I think we need to talk," Luke told Lorelai as he followed her down the halls.

"I know, I know, I just…. let me try to find…" Lorelai promised, too busy on searching for her missing daughter in the middle of this wedding renewal that her parents had thrown together to think about what he was telling her. Trying the very next door, she walked in as Rory and some blonde guy jumped apart. Lorelai paused to collect herself. "Grandma wants a picture."

"Of this?" Rory practically squeaked.

"Rory, what are you doing?"

"Mom…."

"You're at your grandparents wedding…. renewal…. vow…. thing, whatever! They're right out there! God, Rory, I swear!"

"Rory?" Christopher's voice could be heard coming down the hall. Before Lorelai could stop him, he appeared in the doorway. "OK, don't, Chris, it's all right…."

Too late. Christopher's eyes had set on the blonde interloper. "What the hell are you doing in here with my daughter?" Chris asked, his chirpy voice barely masking a dangerous fury.

"I…." the blondie tried to stammer out.

"You stay away from her….. That is my daughter! I will kick your ass! I will kick your ass, you little weasel!"

"All right…." Lorelai pulled Chris away before he could go for the blonde and threw him out of the room before following him. "Get out!"

"What the hell's going on?!" Luke asked, from where he had waited for Lorelai.

"Who's that guy, Lorelai?" Chris demanded.

"Christopher, calm down! You're drunk!"

"Calm down?! There's a guy in there pawing my daughter!"

"What guy? There's a guy in there with Rory?!" Luke acted without thinking. He remembered well how he had felt seeing Rory with Dean. But this was even worse. He had no idea who he might find behind that door. Nevertheless, he charged into the room; Lorelai could do nothing to stop him.

"Oh my God, Luke….." she cried, mortified as she ran after him.

"HEY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER; I MEAN IT! RIGHT NOW! HANDS IN THE AIR! I WANT TO SEE HANDS IN THE AIR!" Luke continued with his verbal abuse and promises to kill that hooligan even as Lorelai now threw him out of the room, too.

"Out!" the mother bellowed, slamming the door and locking it. She turned to the teenagers. "I think you'd guys better use the back way out of here," she suggested as diplomatically as she could.

"But, Dad…. Luke…." Rory yelped, indicating the raised voices of the two men just outside the door.

"I will take care of Dad and Luke," Lorelai promised. "Please go. Now!"

Rory left, leaving Lorelai to deal with her boyfriend.

"You must be Logan. I'm Lorelai," she smiled icky-poo sweetly.

"Nice to meet you," Logan helplessly, sheepishly, shrugged, even as he listened to not one, but _two_ men – Rory's father and…. stepfather, maybe? - arguing over who would have the pleasure of burying him six feet under and dancing a jig on his grave.

"I'm gonna kill him!"

"No, _I'm_ gonna kill him!"

"I'd better….." Logan mumbled.

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, and Logan ducked away.

* * *

The argument still had not abated many minutes after Rory and Logan had made their escape.

"You shouldn't have done that," Christopher shook his head. "You should have left him to me. And it's none of your business what's going on with Rory."

"Right, like you could have kicked the shit out of him while you're falling down drunk!" Luke hurled back. "Hell, the only reason you're hot and bothered about some motherfucker groping your daughter is _because_ you _are_ drunk! I was ready to bash his face in, and I'm stone-cold sober! And it sure the hell is my business what's going on with Rory."

Christopher was drunk, there was no denying that. But he still had enough of his faculties to understand what Luke was saying. "How _dare_ you!" he thundered. "This is not your decision to make! It is not your place to protect Rory! I needed to be there to save her; I'm her father! Rory is my daughter. Mine."

"Needed to be there? You're her father?" Luke gawked, sensing, and deciding to pounce on, the trap Christopher had essentially laid for himself. "Oh yeah? Where the hell were you when she got the chicken pox and would only eat mashed potatoes for a week? Where were you when she graduated high school – or _started college_? Huh? Who the hell moved her mattress into her dorm, and out of her dorm, and back into her dorm again?"

Christopher shifted his hands through his pockets, his mouth drawn in a tight line as he barely refrained from physically attacking Luke. But Luke didn't care. His shots had gone home, as well they should have, and he knew it. No longer was he going to let Christopher take credit for rearing Rory, even though it was his name on the birth certificate, his blood flowing through Rory's veins. For the first time, Luke was going to stake his claim - claim Rory as partially his. For it was true. She was like a daughter to him, and he would murder in cold blood any boy who tried to touch her as if she truly was his own child. And he could do that wretched deed probably worse than Christopher ever could. These thoughts filled Luke with an almost delirious pride, that he could rightfully attach his name to Rory's, and identify her as his. Reveal to the whole world that he – Luke – was the closest thing Rory had to a father. He had always considered Rory to be a little bit his, just as April biologically was, just as Jess symbolically was. Why not add Rory to that pantheon of a legacy? Shout it for the heavens to hear? Well, now he would, and Luke would do so for the rest of his life.

* * *

"Are we OK?" Rory asked yet again. "I mean, that wasn't exactly my proudest moment."

"Aw, honey, you're the daughter of a woman who has had no end of less than proud moments. Don't worry," Lorelai assured.

"Luke was so mad."

"That's because to Luke, you're still ten years old wearing feathered angel's wings going door-to-door inviting people to a dead caterpillar's funeral."

"Oh, now I did that once." Rory protested, even as she turned red.

"Luke is fine."


	8. Chapter 8: Women in the Sequel

**Chapter 8: Women in the Sequel**

Rory waited in the airport lobby at LaGuardia, scanning the passengers streaming out for her mother and stepfather. Well, Luke wasn't actually her stepfather yet, but he would be. Someday, and someday soon, she hoped. He and her mom had been living together for almost a decade, eight years really, ever since she had started work on the Obama 2008 campaign after Yale. Tying the knot for them was only a matter of time. And Stars Hollow expected it. Frankly, she felt the couple had waited way too long.

The sight of Luke's baseball cap at the top of the escalator shook Rory from her thoughts. He gave her an adorably awkward wave... just as her mother practically danced around him to reach the bottom of the escalator first.

Rory rushed forward.

"The fruit of my labor!" Lorelai squealed, much too loudly, but Rory didn't care. It had been a solid five, almost six months since she had seen her mother last. Christmas 2015 was finally here, and the young journalist was so pleased that her... parents had agreed to come up from Stars Hollow for once to visit her.

Luke came up behind the squealing girls, and in his own gruff way, calmed them down from making a scene in the airport. He gave Rory a one-armed hug, a gentle smile on his face. "Hey, princess."

Rory smiled back. 'Princess' was a tone of endearment from Luke, and Luke alone. It went back to when she was a little girl. She felt proud to have that affectionate nickname of her own - apparently, Luke always referred to his biological daughter, April, as 'sweetpea' whenever on the phone with her or visiting.

"How was the flight?"

"Awful," Luke groused. "The seats give you no leg room. And this little brat kept kicking the back of my chair! How can parents be so checked out while on a flying death trap for an hour?"

"Keep ranting, baby!" Lorelai practically crowed.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Luke scowled. His girlfriend did take an odd sort of pleasure from hearing him curse up and down everything from airplanes to fast food.

"Well, the worst part's over!" Rory laughed. "Come on: you're in my city now; I have to give you a tour!"

And arm-in-arm, the Gilmore girls strolled out of LaGuardia, leaving Luke to lug the bags behind them. Luke didn't mind being the designated pack mule. In truth, he was fine with it - he would do anything for his girls. And he couldn't help but smile proudly - even if this was tinged with a bit of protectiveness - whenever he saw men glance at the Gilmore women appreciavely as they passed... only for said men's faces to go all bug-eyed with fear upon seeing Luke only a few steps behind his family. _Yeah_ , Luke thought to himself. _They're mine. So watch yourself_.

They first hailed a cab, taking everything to Lorelai and Luke's hotel room, sparing the poor diner owner from hefting all their luggage all over town.

Then the tour began. Rory showed them Times Square, the 9/11 Memorial and several of the Broadway theaters. The trio even stopped to admire the New York Times building.

"My friend Marcy and I even got tickets to _Hamilton_!" Rory was saying.

Lorelai nearly dropped her phone. "How? _How_?!"

"Her cousin's in the cast! Got us tickets for a discount!"

"So jealous!" Lorelai groused. "Ooh, do the pose, do the pose! You know, from that one number..."

Luke frowned. "What number?"

"You _know_ , the really feminist one... Show him, Rory! I'll take your picture!"

Rory smiled shyly, and struck the Schuyler Sisters pose in the front of the NYT building. " _Werk_!"

"Damn right!" Lorelai cackled, snapping the shot.

Even Luke had to smile, as Lorelai showed him the shot in her viewfinder. "You look good, princess."

* * *

 **A/N: The picture taken here is the same one Luke tacks onto his board in my other fic, _One-Shot: Talk of the Town_.**


	9. Chapter 9: Knowing When to Admit Defeat

**Chapter 9: Knowing When to Admit Defeat**

Rory Gilmore sat silently in the posh office, her hands folded in her lap. The young woman seemed to fold her whole body into herself, almost - a reflection of the nervousness she felt in coming here, in being here. The office door closed finally, followed by a to-go cup of Joe thrust into her lap.

"Coffee here sucks. I had to go three blocks to get this," Christopher Hayden admitted dryly.

Rory gave a tentative smile. "This the biggest size they had, huh?"

"It's good to see you, kiddo," Christopher beamed, warm and friendly. A little bit of the hotshot flyboy veneer from her youth was still there, but it had clearly aged with him. The motorcycle was long gone. And they were actually in an office... a professional setting... not Stars Hollow or some place where Christopher could easily flit in and out like a nomadic gypsy, like a myth that was barely real.

"Thanks for squeezing me in," Rory appreciated, hoping she was not an imposition.

"Oh. Always time for you," Christopher emphasized and he meant it.

"So... new office," his daughter commented, trying to get the ball rolling.

"Yes, the cave," Christopher laughed.

"Cave?"

"I call it the cave cause I caved. I'm working in the family biz." Life indeed seemed to have finally caught up with Christopher, anchored him down.

"Well, it looks good on you. New suit, sitting behind that desk..."

"Knife to the heart, kid. Knife to the heart," Christopher dryly parried. Though he secretly appreciated the compliment. Rory stood and began to pace with the coffee cup in her hand.

"So, how's Gigi?"

"She's turning into a full-on Parisian," Christopher reported, referencing his other daughter from another failed relationship, and Rory's half-sister. "Got the baguette thing down and everything."

"Send her my love, will you?"

"I'll do that."

"And how's Lana? Are you two still together?"

"Why not?" Christopher affirmed ambiguously, not really answering the question with a solid yes or no. "How are you?"

"Me? I'm five by five."

Predictably, Christopher did not pick up on the reference the way her mother would have. "What?"

"Oh, sorry, it's... I was watching a _Buffy_ marathon and some things stick." Rory crossed in front of the desk, her countenance slowly sagging as she took on an almost melancholy demeanor. For some reason, she could do nothing but keep her back to Christopher, not strong enough to look him in the eye as she prepared to say what she had come here to say. Naturally, Christopher noticed.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"I can't come visit my father?"

"Any time. It just seems a little formal. Like you're gonna serve me with papers or something."

His interpretation amused her, for it was true in a way. She needed to serve a warning, really, and she hoped her father had grown enough so he could take it well. Rory finally turned to face him.

"Mom and Luke are getting married. Did she tell you?"

"I'm not real good at keeping up with email, so... maybe?" Christopher guessed.

"Well, it's a town thing, and I thought you should know, but I'm kind of hoping you won't..."

"Show up?" Christopher saved her. "I won't. Knowing when to admit defeat is one of my better qualities." His voice sounded sad, but there was no bitterness to it. Rather, an acceptance. Nearly a decade removed from marriage to the mother of his first-born and he was at peace with the way things had turned out. Well, as at peace at one could be at the tender age of 48. "I wish her all the happiness in the world. Is she registered?"

"As what?" Rory wrinkled her nose, amused.

"For gifts. I've got a crazy expense account here. I can get her anything she wants. Does she have a unicorn?"

Rory laughed. "Shoot! She got one yesterday."

"I'll think of something else." Christopher's eyes followed his daughter as she took her seat again. "So, is that what the big news is? The wedding?"

"I'm switching gears a little. Career-wise. The journalism thing didn't really pan out the way I hoped."

"Sorry, kid. Do you need some money?" and her dad sounded genuinely concerned.

"No," she laughed away nervously.

"You sure? Cause I have some. I have no idea what to do with it. I bought this suit and every color of Beats by Dre. I'm out." The colorful, flashy headphones that everyone was wearing for workouts these days.

"I'm writing a book."

"A book?"

"I'm writing a book about me and Mom."

"Really? Does Lorelai know?"

"Yes."

"Does Lorelai care?" Once again, Christopher guessed pretty close to the mark, suspecting that Lorelai wouldn't just jump on board with a memoir about her entire life with nary a peep of trepidation.

"I'll find out."

"Am _I_ in this book?"

"Well, it would be a little hard to avoid," Rory explained delicately, trying very hard not to sound bitter.

"Do I enter in a cloud of sulfur?" Christopher cracked, knowing full well that whatever form he took within these pages, it would not exactly be with glowing reviews.

"I haven't worked out all the logistics."

Christopher chuckled. "OK, well... I think it's great. Just... try not to make me too big a villain. I was stupid, but I loved her. And you." He had to at least make that last point very clear. Rory had been a huge surprise, but her existence meant more to him than she might ever possibly understand. Gigi's as well. Christopher felt that his daughters were the one thing he had gotten right in his mess of a youth.

Rory pursed her lips, silently acknowledging his affection. It was direct, for him, but it was the only way Christopher knew how to show his love, and she had long since accepted that she would take what she got. Beggars couldn't be choosers, so the saying went. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"How did you feel about Mom raising me alone?"

"Ouch!" Christopher laughed nervously, and if there ever was a knife to the heart, that was it. For the first time, he seemed as nervous as Rory had been at the start of their meeting. Almost uncomfortable. "Kind of... cold-clocked me there, Mr. Bernstein."

"Sorry, I just... have to know. How did you feel? What did you feel?" These were the answers Rory needed to get for her book. But, there was another, underlying reason as well...

Christopher took a moment before answering. "Look, your mom did what she wanted to do. I really wasn't consulted." It was an evasion, and Rory could see that even dancing near this subject was painful for her father, but she needed to know. They both did, really. For closure.

"I know, but... you let her do it," she pressed.

Surprisingly, Christopher did not resist to admitting this. "I did. I... I let her do it."

"So now, all these years later, how do you feel about that?"

"It was in the cards," Christopher dove in finally, bravely. "Lorelai and you, from the first moment I saw you two together, no one was getting between you guys. And then, of course, with... Luke constantly present in your lives... Maybe that's why she's getting married now. You're grown, her job... _their_ job is done. Now they can let each other in and focus on each other."

"So, Mom never let you in? Because there wasn't room?"

"I'm not saying that," Christopher chuckled uncomfortably, shifting a little in his chair.

"Is that why you weren't there? Because she made the decision and she pushed you away?"

"No, not at all. It's just... we were so young. _I_ was so young. And Lorelai was... much like yourself, she was a force of nature. Just uncontrollable. Sure about everything. And Luke was already filling the need, whatever she needed from without. For herself and for you. I couldn't come close to competing with that, so I... didn't." Christopher finished his monologue lamely, so that the last word fell flat with a thud. For a moment, the apologetic meekness that Rory had witnessed in her father from a very young age was back. She recalled that time he tried to buy her an encyclopedia at Andrew's bookstore... and ended up getting his credit card rejected. Christopher could never measure up, and he knew it.

"But... you could have fought her on it. You could have... talked her out of it." Rory seemed to be grasping at straws, as if the answer Christopher had just given her was not the one she wanted to hear. And it probably wasn't. The truth was painful that way.

Christopher laughed ruefully. "You ever try talking your mother out of anything?"

"But do you think it was the right decision that she raised me alone, with only a little help from Luke?"

"I think it was exactly what was supposed to happen, and I think she'd back me up on that."

Too hard. She had pushed him too hard, forced the question too much. Christopher clearly did not want to dwell on these old wounds any more than he had to. Maybe that is why the statement came out a little harsher than he had intended. There was a tense, awkward silence, and Rory fiddled with her cup. "Yeah, I think she would too." She let out a heavy sigh.

"You know I love you though, right?" He had to at least make her see that. He may not have been in her life, but he would always love her. That would never change. Being a parent, no matter how many miles removed, no matter how uninvolved he had been - that parental love would never leave him. Rory had to know that.

Rory sighed again. "I know," she assured him gently.

A tiny chime from the laptop on the desk interrupted the moment. "Oh, hold on..."

"No, you're working, I should..."

"No, I..." Another chime, and Christopher huffed in frustration. "Sorry, kiddo." He sent her another apologetic look, his stupid email server acting as a metaphor for how their relationship was.

But hopefully, not how it always _would be_.

"Let's meet up for dinner, next week. Tell me more about this book." Christopher circled the desk.

"Thanks for the coffee."

Rory and Christopher hugged, but it was an awkward hug. The executive remembered something Lorelai had told him once, many moons before:

 _Rory needs her dad._

 _Or her pal, right?_

 _I think she'd take a combo._

Maybe it would be a combo still, for now, but he hoped that it would not last that way forever.

Turning back by the door, Rory expressed as genuinely as she could, "I think the office is nice."

Christopher watched his daughter go almost sadly, but ever so tentatively optimistic. That this visit was the first step on a journey towards a better place for himself and for his daughter.


	10. Chapter 10: The Maid of Honor's Daddy

**Chapter 10: The Maid of Honor's Daddy**

Rory Gilmore wandered the wedding reception, her mind on a path just as aimless as the one her feet now carried her along. She ran her hands lightly over her periwinkle dress, trying not to entertain the paranoid thoughts of how it felt tighter already as opposed to when she last tried it on, only a matter of days ago.

People had been coming up to her all evening, commenting on how she was the prettiest Maid of Honor they had seen in years. Rory put on her mask, her brave smile, doling out Thank You's in a gushing way that was fake to only her.

"Sugah, you look positively radiant!" Babette had pronounced in her raspy voice.

"Rory, honey, I'd help you find a fella in this crowd, but that face and dress are already drawing them like moths to a flame!" Miss Patty had cheekily informed her. And indeed, Rory noticed she was catching the eye of most of Luke's groomsmen - young friends of Jess's that her stepfather's nephew had rounded up.

Someone else noticed how Rory was becoming the Belle of the Ball - Luke, the groom himself. His eyes followed Rory like a heat-seeking missile, their beams only growing more fervent when he saw how Jess's buddies were all eyeing her like a snack. _They better not get any ideas..._ Luke had growled to himself. Locker room talk be damned! Donald Trump or no, if that's how men these days conducted themselves, watching any attempts at sexual intercourse was little better than watching the gorillas in that _Tarzan_ movie with the Phil Collins music switched off.

And was everything OK, if Rory's body language was to be believed? The way her shoulders were slightly slumped. And he knew that smile - her fake one. It could fool the entire town, and maybe her mother on occasion, but it couldn't fool him. Something was wrong.

So, Luke sauntered over from the punch bowl table, heading off a groomsman who seemed to have gotten the same idea. "May I have this dance, young lady?" Luke playfully bowed to Rory.

Rory blinked, almost as if she was startled, but quickly covered it up with a smile. "Why, of course you may!" she played along, curtsying. Luke noticed the cock-blocked groomsman slink off as he and Rory danced away. _Yeah, you'd better run, punk! You're lucky that cock only got blocked and not something far worse. Like chopped off._

As the pair waltzed, Luke saw how Rory was more focused on her feet not mangling the steps than she was on him. Her eyes were heavy, and she just had a... melancholy countenance about her. Gently, he lifted her chin with a finger so he could meet her eyes. "Rory... you know you can tell me anything, right?" Ordinarily, he would have waited for her to tell him, but something in his gut told him that nudging her in that direction might make things better for all of them.

Rory visibly gulped and nodded, her eyes pooling with tears. "I have something to tell you..."

And whatever it was, it wasn't good, Luke had all but confirmed that. "Is it a job? Did you lose a writing assignment? Or that boyfriend, what was his name? Patrick? Peter?"

"Paul," Rory corrected him.

"Whatever. Is it...?"

"No, it's not about him."

"Are you sick?"

Rory shook her head, abruptly bringing their dance to a halt. Then she suddenly leaned up and whispered in his ear, and the way she clung to him made Luke feel as though she was a little girl again, telling him a secret.

"I'm pregnant."

She pulled back, and Luke's jaw dropped. Rory's eyes searched his, and Luke wondered if it was approval, or at least acceptance. Whatever he said next, he knew it would matter and have ramifications for years to come. After all, Christopher might be Rory's father, but he - Luke - was Rory's _dad_.

"P... pregnant?"

"I'm going to have a baby," Rory smiled weakly.

Luke's eyes filled with tears, tears that he refused to shed. His eyes scanned the crowd, almost daring for anyone to look their way at the wrong moment. He couldn't fall apart like this, not with Rory; Patty or Babette would have the rumor mills churning faster than he could say 'Gilmore.'

"That's... that's wonderful!" He croaked. Rory blinked, surprised by his lack of judgment. Luke felt his grip tighten protectively around her. "Whatever you need, you understand me? Whatever you need, and it's yours." He paused. "The father...?"

"Is not Paul," Rory whispered quietly. "It's... Logan."

Luke's eyes widened in astonishment, but instead all he asked was, "Will he help?"

"I don't think he's in a position to," Rory murmured sadly.

Luke's face clenched with rage at this news. A boy getting a girl pregnant and then not taking responsibility! The nerve! "I'm gonna kill him!"

Rory stared up into his face, searching again. "Are you... disappointed?"

"No! Never! Never at you, Rory..." he soothed her.

"But the _menu_!" Rory suddenly wailed, the softest voice of her stepfather's suddenly making her come unglued. "You put my New Yorker piece on the back of _your_ _menu_ , and you and Mom are always so supportive, and I just keep jumping from bad choice to worse. I've been flailing since practically college. I mean, who does that? What kind of person takes all these amazing opportunities and, and just wastes them? Just - throws them away? This person right here, that's who. I just keep picking whatever's easiest, because maybe I think I'm less likely to screw up? Or not picking anything at all, and just pretending I know what I'm doing and dressing it up as some romantic adventure. I'm 32 years old, for crying out loud. I shouldn't - I shouldn't be so scared of living my life… I'm so scared, Luke."

Luke bit his lip, before wordlessly pulling Rory into his embrace. It rattled him when she clung to him and began to violently sob. "You've been so proud of me... and I don't deserve it! April deserves it..."

The mention of his biological daughter made Luke scan for her face in the crowd. He finally spotted her, laughing with Jess over a picture the young man had taken on his camera. Gulping, Luke held Rory closer, allowing her to soak his tuxedo through with her tears.

"April's not my only daughter..." he murmured to her quietly, rubbing small circles along her back. "It's OK, princess... It's OK... Don't you know that I'm crazy about you...?"

Rory finally relaxed in his embrace, letting out a shuddering breath. "You're a great dad, Luke," and he knew she wasn't just talking about April. "And you will be an amazing grandfather."

"You'll be an amazing mother," Luke promised her, kissing her hair and forehead as they swayed softly on the dance floor.


	11. Chapter 11: Dinner with Dad

**Chapter 11: Dinner with Dad**

The next week, as promised, Rory met up with her father for dinner. Christopher came to her from Boston, as he was on business in Connecticut anyhow.

Luke and Lorelai's wedding had been the party of the decade for Stars Hollow, and after asking her mother's permission, Rory had come armed with photos from the big day. She did not, however, have any intention of divulging the elopement her mother and new stepfather had undertaken. That she would always keep to herself, as would Michel and Lane, and yes, Kirk.

Seated at a fancy table in Windham Seasons Bar and Grill, a few miles from the UConn campus, Christopher eyed each snapshot with a bemused smile.

"Well, Luke's aged like a bottle of fine wine. And Lorelai... she looks lovely." And the latter statement was simple, nothing amorous or untoward about it.

Rory smiled warmly. The waiter approached with a bottle of Chardonnay. Christopher poured his glass and offered it to Rory. "Want some, kid?"

But Rory begged off. "No, thank you, I'm actually... cutting back on the wine."

Christopher smirked. "Drank too much at the wedding, huh? Anyone get inebriated? Make a fool of themselves?"

"Other than Kirk?"

Christopher let out a bark of a laugh, remembering the socially inept entrepreneur and his quirky ways. "Yes, other than Kirk."

"Not me, certainly. I... didn't drink at the wedding either."

Christopher sent her an amused frown. "This is serious, then. But it isn't even Lent yet!"

Rory gawked at him, tickled by the wisecrack. "When was the last time you gave up anything for Lent?"

"I gave up my PacMan machine... in 1986. Does that count?"

"Sure. Just like it counts how Mom and I haven't sat for a Sunday mass since '98. They lost us with the whole Westboro crap."

Christopher chuckled. "Me too."

Rory bit her lip, trying to get the conversation back on track and where it needed to go. "Actually, the reason I've... taken a vow of abstinence is because..." And she took a deep voice before announcing softly. "I'm pregnant."

For the longest time, Christopher did not say anything. "P...pregnant?" He stammered out.

Rory smiled weakly. "Congratulations. You're going to be a grandfather."

That comment seemed to finalize the reality for Christopher, as he finally decided:

"Whoever he is, I'm gonna kill him."

She couldn't help it. She didn't even see it coming. She burst into laughter.

Christopher tried not to glare at her, thrown as he was by her reaction. "Why is that funny? I don't see a ring on your finger. Who is this jackass, impregnating my daughter?"

"It's just... Luke said something of the same, when I told him," Rory explained. "And..." she now grew serious. "I think you might have met this guy, a long time ago."

Christopher's eyes widened in understanding. "The blonde weasel? From _Yale_? The one Luke and I nearly creamed at...?"

Rory nodded. "We reconnected... when I was in London. Working for Naomi Shropshire."

"I knew about the Shropshire gig; my colleagues say I wouldn't shut up about it for at least a month..."

Rory smiled. "You're not as bad as Luke. He put my New Yorker profile of her on the back of his diner _menu_."

"Sounds like him. But... hold on," and Christopher finally seemed to remember the subject. "You reconnected with this guy in London. And...?"

Rory flushed red, embarrassed. "He was engaged. He's about to get married, in fact, next month."

Christopher's jaw dropped. "You had an _affair_? Rory..."

"You don't need to say it. That you're disappointed in me. But you might understand. From experience."

The jab was out of her mouth before she could stop it. Christopher looked genuinely hurt at the broadside that still seemed to come out of nowhere, despite the context. "I... I'm sorry; that was out of line..." Rory tried to backpedal, apologize, a hand to her mouth.

Christopher shook his head. "No need. I deserved that, actually. Better coming from you than... your mom. Or Luke."

There was a long silence, during which the waiter came and took their order. At last, Christopher spoke up:

"Will I be allowed to see the baby?"

Rory peered at him, perplexed by the question. "What makes you think I wouldn't?"

"Luke, for one. I..."

Rory shook her head, smiling gently at him. "Luke has his own rules, and I'll be sure to talk it out with him. But he made it clear to me after the wedding that I am an adult, and can make my own decisions where the baby is concerned. If he has an opinion, he'll tell me, and I will always respect it. This, however, is between you and me." She pointed between the two of them. "Mom always left the door open to you for seeing me. I intend to do the same. Just one caveat, and I will repeat this to Luke:" And she leaned across the table towards him. "I expect the two of you to be civil to each other. You'll be sharing grandfather duties after all. What each of you are referred to as by the baby, that will be left up to you. But I can't have either of you fighting. I won't tolerate it."

Christopher nodded. "Understood, kid."

Rory leaned back, her voice tender again. "I would never shut you out, Dad," she admitted honestly. "You may not have been there much when I was growing up, but I don't want to hold that against you. I never would."

Christopher nodded, tight-lipped, and the lights from the chandeliers reflected the tears swimming in his eyes. "Thank you, Rory." He sighed heavily and his eyes and hands darted around the tablecloth absently, searching for something to do, a new tangent to follow. "So: how do you think I'll appear in this book?"

"Not in a cloud of sulfur, for sure. I'm actually introducing you in my latest chapter now, and what I was thinking was..."


	12. Chapter 12: Rory Gives Birth

**Chapter 12: Rory Gives Birth**

The pain. The agonizing, unbearable pain. It was all Rory could do to remain standing, and the sweltering summer sun did little to alleviate the stress.

She barely made it to Luke's Diner, the cramps sending her half-toppling into the counter. Her pants were soaked with fluid. She screamed, causing Kirk to upend his coffee into his lap.

"LUKE!"

Her stepfather came sprinting from the back. "Oh my God! Rory, what is it? Are you hurt?"

Rory tried to remain grim and brave, even as tears pricked at her eyes. "It's coming..."

Luke's eyes nearly popped out of his head. " _Now?!_ " It was the wrong thing to say, as Rory gave him something akin to a glare. So he sprang into action. "We're closed. Everyone who has already ordered, take your coffee as quick as you can and go! Caesar, lock up and make sure Kirk leaves!" And Luke then gallantly picked Rory up, bridal-style, and carried her to his truck. The gesture amused Rory, and kept her tethered to reality, despite the pain.

"You don't have to do that, Daddy..."

"You are not allowed to walk in this condition," Luke told her firmly, as he deposited her into the passenger seat of his truck. All at once, a memory of placing in this truck an 8-year-old Rory, struck by the chicken pox, assaulted him. How long ago that was! And now, his little girl was having a baby...

Diner owner and pregnant journalist flew down the I-91 highway. A pained and increasingly cantankerous Rory ordered Luke through every important contact on her phone, making him call everyone whom she felt needed to be informed. Going through her Stars Hollow speed dial thankfully would not be necessary, as both she and Luke trusted Miss Patty and Babette to spread the word through all of town within minutes, if not seconds. Their legendary rumor mill did travel that fast, sometimes.

St. Francis Hospital in Hartford was ready for Rory when she arrived. The nurses helped her out of the truck, and right into a gurney. Luke quickly parked the truck and sprinted after them. After some haggling on the paperwork, Luke - as the stepfather - was allowed back with her.

Hour after hour passed like that. The time was occasionally broken by a call from Lorelai, who was doing her best to get off Nantucket from where she had been visiting her mother. So it was only Luke who could remain with Rory in the room, holding her hand and looking grim, even as a crowd from Stars Hollow and other well-wishers gathered outside. At least that was the story being told to him by his phone blowing up. But apparently, Paris Geller was keeping everyone in check; a few doctors had even mistaken her for a hospital executive, scrambling to obey when she even barked orders at _them_.

It was getting on evening when the baby finally began to crown, and Rory was ordered to push for all she was worth. Her face streaked with tears, Rory did her best, even as the agony left her crying out for someone, anyone.

"Daddy! PLEASE! HELP ME! JUST TAKE THE PAIN AWAY! TAKE THIS AWAY! DON'T LEAVE ME!" She broke down, sobbing.

Luke kissed her hand. "Never! I'm not going anywhere!" he promised. He wondered if Rory remembered how she used to call him 'Daddy' when she was a toddler, even as he also fretted over the travel status of his wife. It had been a couple hours since Lorelai had last called. Where was she?

It was deep night, when Rory finally pushed the baby girl out of her. Lorelai hadn't made it, but not because she hadn't tried her damnedest, oh no. A storm had grounded all small planes flying in or out of Nantucket, essentially leaving her stranded on an island in the Atlantic Ocean... with her mother. _I wouldn't wish that kind of punishment on anyone_ , Luke thought.

Meanwhile, Luke was being informed through text messages that the crowd was growing restless in the waiting room outside. Apparently, Kirk had tried to organize a mutiny against Paris's leadership, resulting in her decking him and giving him a black eye. That little tidbit made Luke relent (after having a good chortle, anyway), showing mercy and allowing the well-wishers to come back, one at a time.

And the next morning, when Lorelai and Emily finally arrived, they found Luke lying asleep against the gurney, the railing creasing his face and his hands resting protectively over Rory and the little baby.


	13. Chapter 13: A Life Lived

**Chapter 13: A Life Lived**

The funeral was on a wet, rainy day and was an absolute mess.

At least, it left everyone in Stars Hollow an absolute mess; the ceremony itself was actually beautiful. Lorelai Gilmore, the wrinkles of age already setting into her face at 64, was inconsolable, as the love of her life was laid to rest. Rory and April had to almost prop her up as they passed by the casket.

Afterwards, Luke's legal team had summoned the three women and Jess, providing them with Luke's Last Will and Testament. Lorelai was left the Diner, to do with what she wished; his widow intended to have it remain a diner and let Caesar run the place. Lorelai trusted Caesar to carry on for Luke. April and Jess were given many heirlooms that had been passed through the Danes family for generations.

And every single family member was given an envelope with Luke's scrawl across the top. A letter for each of them. Even Rory, to her surprise, got one. She was still staring at the envelope with her name on it, as she and April and Jess and Lorelai trudged into the house on Maple Street. Rory's 16-year-old daughter, Laurie (her full name was Lorelai Paris Gilmore) rose from the couch upon her family entering.

"Hi," she greeted meekly, giving her mother a hug. "How was the meeting with the lawyers?"

Rory just gave an exhausted nod of her head to indicate that it had been fine.

"I'll make us some tea," Laurie offered, disappearing into the kitchen; she sensed the adults needed to be alone. Taking seats on the couch and easy chairs, the quartet each studied the envelope in their hands as if they were pondering a deep philosophical question. But none of them were more perplexed than Rory.

"Why would he leave a letter for _me_?" Rory wondered aloud, baffled. "I'm just his stepdaughter... no blood relation..."

"Don't say that!" April started to say, but Jess waved her down into silence.

"Why don't you open it and find out, Rory?" he encouraged his step-cousin.

So, shakingly, Rory opened the envelope and removed its contents. Her eyes barely swept over the first line before she collapsed off the easy chair, her body heaving with wracking sobs.

Lorelai started to stand: "Kid...?"

"Rory? Honey, are you OK?" April fretted.

Gulping back the sobs, Rory began to read the missive aloud, her voice trembling: " _My sweet first-born:..._ "

That alone made Lorelai slap a hand to her mouth to stifle her own sobs.

" _I am so proud of the strong, independent woman you have become. You have blessed my life with beauty and grace, just like your mother. I have never known two more exemplary women and it has been a privilege to watch you grow and have you in my life. I once said to you that you are not mine by blood, but I love you like you're mine. And that's all that matters in the end, at least to a Danes. Your Papa William would say the same thing. The first check you will find in here is money meant for you. Use it to write another book as great as that best-seller that still sits proudly on my shelf._ "

( _Gilmore Girls_ , Rory's memoir about her and her mom's lives, had indeed reached the top of the charts, and allowed her to give her own daughter a better, more secure life).

" _The second check is intended for my granddaughter to finish her education. I expect for Laurie to finish school and to do great things with her life. Just like her mother. Just like her grandmother before her. I will always love you, Rory. I always did. Never forget that or ever question why you should be equal in my love to Lorelai or April or Jess (I know you a little too well, young lady, and how that brilliant mind of yours works). Always, your stepfather, Luke._ "

The rest of the letter made Rory dissolve into sobs all over again, so loud and wailing that she could barely finish, and the commotion called Laurie away from the kettle in the kitchen. The teenager's eyes - as blue as Rory's - went wide with terrified concern.

"Mom...?"

Rory wrapped Laurie in a hug, shaking through her grief. She handed her daughter the check meant to pay for her education, presenting it to Laurie. "Your Pappy... is a wonderful, wonderful man, Laurie Gilmore. You remember that. Understand me?"

Still disturbed by her mother's emotions, Laurie nodded. She quickly scrambled to serve the tea, and also began a round of telling favorite Luke stories. Soon, laughter was beginning to drive away the tears. The pain of loss would by no means disappear overnight. But eventually...

Luke Danes had built himself a wonderful legacy. He had lived a full life. All who knew and loved him would remember that.


End file.
